Coupler yoke and yoke pin support plate mounting



Mardl 29, 1955 u ss 2,705,078

COUPLER YOKE AND YOKE PIN SUPPORT PLATE MOUNTING Filed March 30, 1953 IN VENTOR M ELM/IV fzwwvzas,

ATTORNEY United States Patent COUPLER YOKE AND YOKE PIN SUPPORT PLATE MOUNTING Loree Elwyn Furniss, Groveport, Ohio, assiguor to The Buckeye Steel Castings Company, Columbus, Ohio Application March 30, 1953, Serial No. 345,568

3 Claims. (Cl. 213-58) The present invention relates to railway couplers and the attachments for such equipment and more specifically pertains to improvements in the mounting of the plate which supports the yoke and yoke pin of a railway draft appliance.

The yoke and yoke pin support plate has in the past been accommodated in slots at the lower opposite sides of the striker casting. Lugs integral with the striker cast ing have been employed at one or both sides of the striker to retain the support plate in position. In one earlier embodiment a lug integral with the striker is so constructed and positioned that the plate may be inserted at one side only of the draft appliance. In another mounting the plate must be maintained in an angular position with respect to a true transverse position while being moved into position under the yoke and yoke pin after which it must be shifted so that the trailing end is then in abutting relationship with respect to the lugs on the striker casting. In the prior mountings the yoke and yoke pin support plates must be applied and removed from one side of the draft appliance. It is the practice in the construction of some railway cars to mount the slack adjuster for the brake linkage adjacent and at one side of the draft appliance. Thus in the past before the yoke and yoke pin support plate is removed from the draft appliance it has been necessary to first disconnect the slack adjuster before it is possible to remove the support plate. In some railway cars the hand brake rigging is located adjacent the draft gear so that it has been necessary to dismantle portions of the hand brake rigging before it is possible to remove the yoke and yoke pin support plate.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to mount the yoke and yoke pin support plate in such a manner that it may be removed from either side of the draft appliance so that the plate may be detached therefrom without first removing some of the auxiliary equipment adjacent the draft gear.

Another object of the invention is to simplify and improve the structure of the striker casting and to avoid formation of integral lugs thereon which have in the past been utilized to retain the yoke support plate in position in the striker and to provide removable means for retaining the yoke and yoke pin support plate in proper association with the striker and the car sills.

A further object of the invention is to provide removable means at each side of the striker casting for holding the plate in a position to support the pin and yoke by means of abutment members detachably secured to the horizontal flanges of the sill structure whereby either of the abutment members may be removed to permit the insertion or removal of the yoke pin and yoke support plate at or from either side of the railway draft appliance.

Other objects and features of the invention will be more apparent to those skilled in the art as the present disclosure proceeds and upon consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawing wherein an embodiment of the invention is disclosed.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a fragmentary plan view of a railway draft appliance exhibiting improvements in the mounting of the yoke and yoke pin support plate.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of a part of the sill structure while the lower portion is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a part of the sill structure with portions of the striker omitted and taken in the direction of the arrow 4 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing there is shown at 10 a railway coupler having a stem 11 which extends rearwardly therefrom into the striker and into a forward portion of the draft attachment assembly represented generally at 17. -A yoke of a known type having forward portions 14 and 16 is arranged within the sill structure in a conventional manner. The rear end of the coupler shank 11 is connected to the forward portions 14 and 16 of the yoke by means of a vertically disposed yoke pin 12 in a known manner.

The sill structure includes two Z-shaped members 18 and 19. These members are connected to each other along the line 21. .The sill member 18 is provided with a vertical side wall 26 and a horizontal flange 27 extends laterally from the lower extremity of the side wall 26. The sill member 19 has a substantially vertical side wall 29 and a horizontal flange 28 extends laterally from the lower edge portion of the wall 29. The yoke is housed within the sill structure and the center sill assembly is ggnnected to the transverse end sill 23 by means of rivets The striker casting 31 includes side wall portions 32 and 33 which are arranged within and along the side walls of the sill structure. The striker may be attached to the side walls of the sills by means of rivets 34. The side wall portions 32 and 33 of the striker casting depend slightly below the sill structure and the opposite side wall portions are provided with slots 36 and 37. The outer faces of these portions of the striker casting are devoid of integral lugs adjacent the slots 36 and 37 and the width of the portions 38 and 39 of the striker casting are each less than corresponding parts of prior striker castings.

A plate 41 for supporting the yoke pin 12 and the forward portion 16 of the yoke may be introduced endwise into either one of the slots 36 or 37 from either side of the draft appliance. A block shaped member 43 is secured to the flange 27 by means of bolts or rivets 44 so as to be detachably secured to the flange 27. The block 43 is of such thickness as to provide an abutment preventing the shifting of the plate 41 to the left in Fig. 2. A similar block shaped member 46 is secured to the under face of the flange 28 by means of bolts or rivets 47 and prevents the plate 41 from shifting to the right in Fig. 2. The members 43 and 46 are detachably secured in place and either may be readily and conveniently removed so that the plate 41 may be withdrawn from a position supporting the yoke pin 12 and the yoke portion 16.

The detachable block members 43 and 46 make it possible to apply the plate 41 to the draft appliance from either side thereof even when some of the auxiliary equipment such as a slack adjuster mechanism or the hand brake rigging or other attachments have already been mounted in place. It is also possible to remove the coupler 10 and the yoke from the sill structure by detaching the block 43 or the block 46 and thereby avoiding the necessity of dismantling or removing the slack ad juster or parts of the brake rigging or signal lines which would otherwise interfere with the removal of the support plate.

While the invention has been described with reference to particular structural features it would be appreciated that changes may be made in the draft attachment and in the coupler. Such changes and others may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asset forth in the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a railway draft appliance, a center sill structure having vertically disposed side walls, a horizontally disposed flange extending outwardly from the lower extremity of each side wall, a striker casting including one side wall portion lying along an inner surface of one side wall of the sill structure and another side wall portion lying along an inner surface of the other side wall of the sill structure, means for securing the striker side wall portions to the center sill structure, said side wall portions of the striker depending below the respective horizontal flanges and having vertical outerfaces, said side wall portions each having a horizontal slot therethrough, a yoke pin and yoke support plate extending transversely of the sill structure supported on the striker within said slots, an abutment member engaging the under surface of one flange adjacent one end of the plate, means removably securing said abutment member to the associated flange, a second abutment member engaging the under surface of the other horizontal flange, and means detachably securing the second abutment member to the associated flange.

2. In a railway draft appliance, a center sill structure having vertical side walls, a horizontally disposed flange extending outwardly from the lower extremity of each side wall, a striker casting including one side wall portion lying along an inner surface of one side wall of the sill structure and another side wall portion lying along an inner surface of the other side wall of the sill structure, means for securing the striker to the center sill structure, said side wall portions of the striker depending below said horizontal flanges and each having a horizontal slot therein, an elongated yoke pin and yoke support plate adapted for endwise movement through either of said slots, an abutment member engaging the under surface of one flange adjacent one end of said plate, means removably securing said abutment member to the associated flange, a second abutment member engaging the under surface of the other horizontal flange adjacent the other end of the plate, and means detachably securing the second abutment member to the associated flange.

3. In a railway draft appliance, a center sill structure having vertical side walls, a horizontal flange extending outwardly from a lower extremity of each side wall, a striker casting including one side wall portion lying along an inner surface of one side wall of the sill structure and another side wall portion lying along an inner surface of the other side wall of the sill structure, means securing the striker to the center sill structure, each side wall portion of the striker depending below the associated horizontal flange and having an outer vertical surface aligned with the inner surface of the side wall of the sill structure, said depending side wall portions of the striker each having a slot therethrough below said horizontal flanges, an elongated yoke pin and yoke support plate movable endwise through either of said slots and supported on the striker within said slots, an abutment member engaging an under surface of one flange adjacent one end of the plate, removable means securing said abutment member to said flange, a second abutment member engaging an under surface of the other horizontal flange, and removable means securing the second abutment member to the associated flange.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,836,244 Haseltine Dec. 15, 1931 1,945,384 Schmidt Jan. 30, 1934 2,055,472 Barrows Sept. 29, 1936 

